


Transparency

by Raven_Ehtar



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Kleptoshipping - Freeform, M/M, he's trying, poorly advised crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-30 19:36:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12115752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Ehtar/pseuds/Raven_Ehtar
Summary: After the events that took place at the Black Crown, Yugi isn't fully convinced that the spirit of the Millennium Ring is quite as evil as they first thought, and he invites him out for a day at the mall.Short piece just because I felt like it.





	Transparency

**Author's Note:**

> Another Yu-Gi-Oh! pairing that I like. Basically I like any combination of the Yugis and the Bakuras, (damn YGO for making _that_ a sentence that makes sense), including ones that don't officially exist. So here you go with a short. Enjoy! :)

Yugi wanted to believe that Bakura - or rather, the spirit of the Millennium Ring - was his friend. He knew he shouldn’t trust him, and didn’t, quite, but when he had to choose between trusting and questioning him, it was so much easier to trust. Past actions gave him and everyone else very good reasons to distrust the spirit of the Ring. Jonouchi still refused to play even console RPGs after their experience with Monster World. Yugi’s other self severely distrusted the spirit of the Ring, and always grew quiet whenever Yugi’s thoughts turned to that other presence, and how he wished he could know it better. 

It seemed strange to Yugi that he appeared to be the only one capable of seeing the potential good in the spirit. Of course he remembered what had come before; he was not insensible to that. It was _because_ he could remember the past that he thought there was any chance of Bakura changing. 

He hadn’t forgotten what his other self had been like at first. He could remember, now that they were able to speak with one another, all of the things his partner had done just after Yugi had solved the Millennium Puzzle. True, the things he had done had all been in defense of Yugi and his friends, but the _way_ he had chosen to protect them, the lengths he had gone to and the ways others had suffered as a result… It was hard for him to see much difference between him and the Ring’s spirit at times. 

He did his best to keep that particular thought to himself, as he could well imagine how well the observation would be taken by his partner if he knew. Yugi had no desire to argue the point, but really, how much did any of them know about the spirit of the Ring? Bakura, the Bakura who was their classmate, had told them that the spirit had been ‘granting wishes’ for him by trapping his friends’ souls in game pieces, insuring that he would never be alone. It was a warped interpretation of what Bakura had wanted, but who was to say that the original intention hadn’t been good? Looking back on what his partner had done in the past, it wasn’t so farfetched. 

Of course, then there was how the spirit had wished to steal the Puzzle, and how he had hurt Bakura when he had begun to fight the possession. Bakura’s hand was still scarred from that night, and winced sometimes when he had to use his left hand. Surely Bakura didn’t see the spirit that had possessed him in such a positive light, as someone who had been trying to _help_ him, so why should Yugi?

Memories of another game that had been like a battle rose up in his mind. Caught in a back room of the Black Crown, forced to play a game with Ryuji Otogi to win back the Millennium Puzzle, he had been without the presence and support of his partner for the first time since solving the artifact. He knew that he leaned on the strength of his other half greatly - there was no way he could deny that he did so. But he hadn’t realized just how much, in how many ways. He had forgotten what it was like to be alone inside his head, facing a gloating opponent. 

The experience of having a partner with him gave him more confidence than he had ever had before, but he was still alone, facing odds which had seemed far too great, far too steep to overcome on his own.

And then Bakura had arrived, as though from thin air. 

The surprise he’d felt at seeing him quickly became shock as he realized that it wasn’t the Bakura he thought it was, but the spirit that had tried to make him and his friends permanent RPG figures. A bad situation seemed to have become exponentially worse in that moment. The last time Yugi had seen _that_ Bakura, they had been facing off, on opposite sides of the table just as he and Ryuji were doing. 

When Bakura told him not to worry, that he’d changed and was his friend now, Yugi hadn’t really trusted him. At the same time, there had been other things holding his attention, and he couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted when his Puzzle was on the line. 

Bakura had stood beside him throughout the rest of that fight. Whenever things looked bleak for him and Yugi began to doubt himself, or when Ryuji would throw out a barbed insult, Bakura was quick with a comeback or an encouraging word. He never voiced a single doubt in Yugi or his abilities, never showed the slightest sign that he thought Yugi was out of his depth. Whenever Yugi felt as though he were stumbling, Bakura was there to catch him and push him back up on to his feet. He was still gruff in his manners, which was bizarre to see coming from _Bakura’s_ face, but ‘gruff’ was not the same as menacing. It was odd. 

It was like Bakura had stepped into the place his other self had vacated when the Puzzle was stolen. Yugi wasn’t alone. There was someone there he could lean on when he needed it the most. 

It was easier to think of Bakura as a friend, as someone who had changed, or was still in the process of changing. His other self had said once that being with Yugi was affecting him, making him a better person. Couldn’t the same thing be true of Bakura and his spirit? Wouldn’t time spent with Bakura also affect that spirit, make him a better person? Yugi had trouble thinking of anyone who could be a better influence on the spirit, and Bakura _was_ wearing the Ring again. If anyone had good reason to mistrust the spirit of the Ring, it was its wearer, and yet he _was_ wearing it, despite what had happened before. There had to be some reason for that measure of trust. 

If Bakura could trust the spirit of the Ring so much as to have it hanging round his neck again, allowing the spirit back into his mind and body, then Yugi could trust him enough to speak to him. He could trust him enough to be in his company.

* * *

“And what is it the keeper of the Millennium Puzzle could wish of me, I wonder?”

Yugi startled at the voice, the subtle change he heard in it from just a moment ago. When he looked into Bakura’s face, he knew. He didn’t need to ask. It was the other Bakura, the spirit of the Ring. Yugi knew what it felt like to have another wearing you skin, but he wondered if he appeared to others the way Bakura did when his spirit possessed him. 

It was the same body and the same face, so to those who were unfamiliar with him Bakura would appear to be just the same as ever. But to anyone who knew him well the difference in who exactly was staring out of his eyes was obvious. There was an arrogance to him that carried into his body language, a kind of self-possessed confidence which the original Bakura did not have that loosened his limbs. His face, too, took on a new kind of cast when it was the spirit who wore it, so every expression seemed to include a sneer. 

Abruptly faced with him with no warning, when he had been walking beside the normal Bakura only moments ago, Yugi found himself stuttering. “W- What? I don’t know what--“

“Oh, yes you do.” Bakura looked about him contemptuously, taking in the shops and their patrons, the faux plants and the strategically placed escalators that made up the Domino City Mall. “Don’t take me for a fool, little Yugi. It isn’t a difficult conclusion to reach that you wanted to see _me,_ and that is why you invited Yadonushi out on this little… escapade. Even he suspects this is so, but it is blindingly obvious to me.” He focused on Yugi, who felt his heart falter a little bit with that stare back on him. “Your behavior makes you transparent. You’ve been talking in pointless circles since the two of you met at the station, and your eyes keep drifting.” He tapped at his chest, which made a disconcertingly metallic sound. 

The Millennium Ring, hidden beneath Bakura’s shirt. 

Yugi swallowed. He hadn’t meant to be deceitful when he had asked Bakura if he wanted to spend some time at the mall, shop a little, hit the arcade, and maybe catch a movie. He hadn’t meant it, but how was he supposed to ask Bakura if he could talk to the spirit that sometimes possessed him? It was awkward to say the least, and he had hoped that the right words would come to him while they were out together. 

The words hadn’t come, and instead his intentions had been figured out anyway and he was caught flatfooted with the Ring spirit staring him down. 

“So,” Bakura said, drawing his attention back. “I ask again: what is it the keeper of the Millennium Puzzle wants from me? I can see you haven’t lost the Puzzle to worthless cretins, so you could not be wishing for my help.”

Yugi shook his head, his hand unconsciously drifting towards the Puzzle at its mention. It wasn’t how he had hoped for it to come about, but he and the other Bakura were once again face to face, he might as well take the opportunity. “No, nothing like that. Actually, the _reason_ I called Bakura out is the same, just the person is different.”

The other Bakura stared at him, lips a thin line, one hand on his hip. He stared for a good long while, making Yugi feel more and more uncomfortable under his unblinking stare as people flowed around them. Finally, with eyes narrowed and tone revealing the depth of his disbelief, he said, “Do you mean that you came here in order to… ‘hang out’… with _me?_ ”

He nodded, holding on tight to his determination and what remained of his confidence. “Yes. You said the last time we met that you were my friend, now. This is something that friends do together.”

Bakura looked surprised, but it was hard to tell what part of the statement surprised him the most. He glanced quickly around the mall again, either looking at it all in a new light or searching for an ambush. “I’m glad you seem to have taken me at my word,” he said, not sounding at all certain as he said it. “But wouldn’t it be more _friendly_ if the rest of the gang were here?”

Yugi did his best not to look discomfited as he answered. “I didn’t tell them about today. I haven’t even really told them about the last time I saw you. I don’t think they would be as understanding as I am. They… wouldn’t come along on this kind of trip if they knew you were a part of it.”

That earned a wide grin from Bakura. “Well, one can hardly blame them for that, now, can one? And yet _you_ trust me well enough to come out alone with me. I’m flattered.”

“I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” he said, and then blushed as Bakura’s eyebrows rose slowly to his hairline. 

“Ah. It occurs to me that this sort of outing is also common among those who are _more_ than friends, does it not?”

“ _I mean_ ,” Yugi went on a little louder, feeling the blush spread up to his ears, “that I wanted to get to know you. You want to be friends, but I know almost nothing about you, so I thought… It seemed like a good idea, to at least act like we were friends and see what happens. Plus, I don’t think you must come out into the world that often, so it might be nice to- to do that. See things, experience the world beyond high stakes games. Just… being a person.”

Again the other Bakura stared at him, apparently at a loss for words, though it was just as likely because he didn’t comprehend what Yugi was trying to get across. Yugi knew what he meant, but it sounded confused and garbled even to his own ears. He wanted to show the other Bakura what having a friend was actually like, to get him to enjoy some of the simple pleasures there were to be had, to bring him out of his shell - to change him, the way his own other half was changing. 

It was some time before the spirit seemed to reach a conclusion. “Alright, then. I’m interested to see what you had in mind for our date,” he said with a mocking tilt to his mouth. 

Yugi’s blush returned full force, especially as Bakura’s comment attracted the attention of a couple of passing girls, who looked at them both before moving on, their heads bent together.

“It’s not a date,” he hissed, defying the taunting smile on Bakura’s face. Doing his best to shake off his embarrassment, he took hold of Bakura’s sleeve and tugged him along, heading towards the largest arcade the mall had. “C’mon, then.”

Bakura allowed himself to be pulled, and for the rest of the afternoon went along with all of the suggestions that Yugi made for their activities. He was surprisingly easy company, especially as the day went on and he seemed to relax more and more. He never dropped the idea that the two of them were on a date, however, and took every opportunity to tease Yugi with it. After a while it bothered Yugi less and less, and he found himself joining in on the joke, giving as well as he got. The taunts didn’t fluster Bakura in the least, but he seemed pleased when Yugi began to join in. 

When the time came for them to part, Bakura was actually smiling a little to himself and at Yugi as they walked. 

“This wasn’t entirely unpleasant, Yugi. I appreciate your invitation.”

Yugi pulled a face, both at the backhanded compliment and the reference to Yugi’s inability to make his intentions to the original Bakura known. 

“And I appreciate you taking me up on it. Maybe we could repeat it sometime.”

Bakura looked at him, a smirk playing his lips and a certain look in his eye which made the blush try and creep back onto his face, just when he thought he’d gotten the best of it. “Yes. I believe that would be acceptable. Though I suggest that next time you’re up front with Yadonushi with what it is you really want. It will make things significantly less awkward.”

Yugi nodded agreement. “Yes, it will.”

“As for now,” Bakura said with a wicked grin, “you have the pleasure of this awkwardness all to yourself.”

It was only an instant’s warning, but Yugi understood it and had all of that instant to brace himself, a blink before the other Bakura was gone and the original was back, looking around himself in confusion. 

In some ways, Yugi thought this was going to be harder than facing the other Bakura for an entire afternoon.

**Author's Note:**

> I might write something more and/or longer for this pairing, but today is not that day. Neither is tomorrow. :p


End file.
